I'll Wait For You
by SerenityPendragon
Summary: When Arthur dies, Merlin is left alone, waiting for the day that he'll see his friend again. One-shot.


**Hi! This is my first story so sorry if it's not that great, but I hope everyone will enjoy it. :)**

**Rated T because I am one and death should not be kid-friendly. x3**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin**

**Now enjoy!**

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"Arthur!" Merlin ran to his best friend lying on the ground in pain. Arthur stirred and opened his eyes. "Merlin," he gasped, every breath a desperate struggle in the battle of life and death. "I-I'm afraid my time has come to an end." Merlin bowed his head and clenched his teeth. '_**No…how can this be? I was supposed to protect him…It's my destiny! He can't die! At least…not until…'**_ "Arthur," Merlin spoke slowly. "I-I…I…" Merlin choked on his words, the burning in his eyes growing stronger until his sorrow threatened to overflow. "I'm a sorcerer!" he sobbed. "I have magic! But I've just used it for you, only for you!" Merlin watched as Arthur's blurry face morphed into an expression of disbelief, surprise, and even anger. "No, you can't be," Arthur snapped. "You can't." "But nothing's changed!" Merlin cried, desperate for Arthur to see the truth. "I'm still me! We can still build this kingdom together, side by side!" The sun sank below the horizon, extinguishing all light in the already dark and cruel world. Merlin reached out, searching for Arthur, anxious to know he was still there. Merlin heard a deep, shuddering breath, then all was silent as his hand found Arthur's. "Arthur…?" His hand was cold. Deathly cold. "Arthur!" Merlin clung to Arthur's hand, never wanting to let go, just wanting to stay by Arthur's side. Just wanting him to come back.

Arthur opened his eyes into the blinding light. _**'Am I…alive? Or dead?' **_Arthur tried to raise his arm to shield his eyes, only to find he couldn't move his body. That's when he noticed Merlin, along with himself. He saw Merlin gently push a boat onto the lake and watch it slowly float away. In the boat was Arthur, eyes closed and hands folded, lying serenely as if he was asleep. Merlin collapsed on the shore, sobbing, as he slowly grew farther away from Arthur's dim sight. "Arthur…" Merlin called. "No…why couldn't you live? Why can't everything just be the way it was before?!" Merlin threw back his head and screamed his loss to the sky, a heart-wrenching sound of pure sorrow, anger and hopelessness. That was the last thing Arthur heard before he surrendered to the light.

Merlin staggered to his feet, his body weak and heavy with sorrow. He felt empty, surreal, as if he was waiting to wake up from a nightmare. His brain couldn't function properly, and his delirious mind began playing tricks on him, bringing him to believe that Arthur hadn't died. "Arthur?" Merlin called. "Where are you? Why can't I see you? Are you there?" Merlin spun in circles blindly, a half-hearted grin plastered on his face. He refused to believe that his best friend, his _destiny_, was gone, lost forever, never to return.

Arthur was no longer aware of anything but his mind. And the one thing on his mind was Merlin. _**'He must feel so alone, so afraid…I know I do. He was my best friend. No, more than that, he was my other half. I'm searching for you, Merlin, somewhere in this dark, cold existence. Are you searching for me?'**_

Somewhere in the deepest part of his mind and soul, he knew Arthur was gone for good. _**'Why Arthur? Why did you leave me? Why did you go? You left me alone in this world. I had to stay here. Here, where I have no meaning to my life.'**_ Merlin lifted his tear-stained face to the sky and extended his arm, clenching his fist in the air, reaching for Arthur.

Will you wait for me, Merlin? Will you wait, no matter how long it takes? So that one day, we may see each other again…

Merlin returned to the shore where he had said his final goodbye to Arthur ten years ago. He never fully recovered from the tragedy of losing Arthur, always living as a ghost of his former self. Merlin was lost and confused, but one of the things that plagued him most was the fact that he never knew how Arthur felt about his magic. Arthur took those feelings with him to the grave, and the scars his initial reaction left on Merlin were just traces of what they had once been. Merlin felt as if he had lost his heart, as if it was wandering, trying to find a reason to live. Merlin was broken, as he always would be, and nothing could change that.

"Merlin…" The sorcerer's grief was broken as he heard his name whispered upon the wind, whispered by a very familiar voice. "Arthur…?" Merlin breathed, wondering if it was just his sorrowful self longing for Arthur. But Merlin knew this was not so when the air wavered, and an all too real image of Arthur appeared before him. They stared at each other for a long time. Merlin wasn't sure how to feel. Should he be joyful because he finally got his one wish, to see his dead friend one more time? Or scared, because of what Arthur's thoughts about magic would be? Arthur's mouth opened, and Merlin steeled himself for what was to come. "Merlin," Arthur repeated, his voice cracking slightly. "There's something I want to say. Everything you've done, I know now. For me, for Camelot, for the kingdom you helped me build. I want to say something I've never said to you before. Thank you." With that, Arthur disappeared into the wind, this time for good. Merlin was left standing on the shore, that same shore Arthur had left him on ten years ago. And Merlin understood. He understood that Arthur wasn't angry, that he had forgiven him. That was all that mattered. Now he could live, knowing that Arthur hadn't hated him as he'd taken his final breath. There would always be a hole in his heart, one that could never be filled, and a part of him that would always be missing no matter how much time passed. However, he knew that Arthur had died in peace, and now he could live in peace. He could live, and wait for the day when his king would rise again.

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**Sooo I hope you enjoyed it. :) Please review and tell me your honest opinion on what you thought…just don't be too brutal ;) Thanks for reading! :D**


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